Video: These entrees won Best of Taste for Taste of Cincinnati 2025
These restaurants aren’t playing around! Here are the entree winners for Best of Taste 2025.
Highly Recommended is a weekly spotlight on some of food writer Keith Pandolfi’s favorite finds as he eats his way across Greater Cincinnati. Come back every Tuesday for more.
The humble enchilada dates back to the Mayans, who were known to prepare empty corn tortillas covered or dipped in chile sauce. Later, the Aztecs did the same, adding fillings such as vegetables or fish. According to Texas Monthly, the word “enchilada” is likely derived from the Aztec word chīllapīzzali (chile flute). I wish we still referred to them as chili flutes because, boy, what a wonderful and apt name it is.
By the 19th century, enchiladas were becoming a staple of what we now refer to as Tex-Mex cuisine, slathered in chile con carne or other chile or cheese sauces. I’ve always had an obsession with them. Stuffed with steak, chicken or cheese and covered in tangy tomatillo or red chile sauce, they always hit the spot. Some of my favorites include the enchiladas verdes with smoked black bean puree at Crown Cantina, Downtown (though it is relocating to Pendleton) and the beef cheek enchilada at El Ocho Loco, in Erlanger.
Add to that list the Enchiladas Mexicanas ($17) at Tequila Modern Mexican, a restaurant and cocktail bar in East Walnut Hills. Here, three enchiladas come with three fillings (steak, chicken and cheese) and three sauces (mole, green tomatillo and cheese). The thick cheese sauce (more like a dip) keeps the other two sauces at bay, making the dish appear like a work of sand art when it arrives at your table. Sure, it’s pretty, but there’s nothing wrong with mixing them all together. The grilled steak is smoky, the chicken tender and the cheese, rich and gooey. The trio is topped with queso fresco and pickled onions.
Tequila, if you’re not familiar, was formerly known as Solstice, a cocktail bar with an eclectic menu of tacos inspired by Caribbean, Asian, Indian and African cuisine. It opened in 2023 but closed a year later when owners Chris Wolfe, Brad Lauck and Andy Smith decided to rebrand it into a modern Mexican restaurant with elevated dishes, at least 200 tequilas and a focus on tequila and mezcal-based cocktails.
I liked Solstice, but I think the rebranding was a good move. Unlike its predecessor, Tequila is more focused and more confident in its raison d’etre. Along with enchiladas, there’s pozole (a Mexican stew of hominy and pork in a guajillo pepper broth), chorizo queso, plancha-grilled tilapia, fajitas, chilaquiles and street tacos. So whether you’re craving tacos, tequila, or chile flutes, give this place a try.
1544 Madison Road, East Walnut Hills, 513-872-1355, tequilacincy.com
This story was updated to add a video.